I think the Pac could have survived after losing two, but not five. They would have been wounded of course, but "OK". Now they have nothing left and the 2 AZs are apparently headed out. Stanford might go Indy? Can there be a conference of "independents"?
I'd guess I'm noncommital on the ACC so far but obviously they could fall apart quickly as well after some legal stuff.
I disagree.
When USC left AND took the "other" LA school with them, it was over. The only chance the PAC ever had was that biennial trip to SoCal. USC was the PAC's only blueblood, and that was major, but to remove all exposure to SoCal was the moment the PAC died.
Why do I believe this?
Because I've run realignment "what ifs" more times than I care to admit. And in doing them in all different ways, the PAC had a unique problem none of the other existing conferences did: bad geography.
I had deemed an ACC vs XII showdown as most likely going forward, but also acknowledging an utter lack of realistic candidates for the PAC to ever poach.
They'd already grabbed Utah and CU. But their further potential targets were way out in Kansas and Texas. And none of them were programs that would move the needle.
B1G and SEC could poach from the ACC or XII anytime they want (in a vacuum, 2036 notwithstanding). The ACC and XII could potentially poach the other (but haven't). But there are a multitude of schools around, with even the AAC providing something of value.
Football-wise, for the PAC, out that way, there's who? BYU? They had an issue with their no-Sunday thing. And they're still not great. Boise? Apparently their academics are community college-level.
Out west, there's just a dearth of options, so the PAC has had an expansion ceiling over it this whole time.
.
Could they have survived if they did SOMETHING? Sure, kind of. But not as THE PAC WHATEVER. Their survival could only have been as a demoted G-5 level with San Diego State and whoever else they found in the bottom of the barrel. But as a legitimate, P-5 conference.....that was lost last summer.
